Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Do you mark?

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Friends Club has a 3-year curriculum, meant to be taught to grades 6 through 8, so every three years we pretty much start the cycle over again.

This actually is my first repeated unit of study since I became the lead teacher: we are doing the Bible unit first.

Truth be told, it's kinda disappointing. This is one of the units that it seems that the authors put together about 4 lessons worth of material and then stretched it over the 6 lessons comprising the unit. So I supplement it considerably. There's so much good information out there...it's a shame it's not written into the material from the start. But maybe my expectations are unusually high.

Part of the supplementation is that I teach my Bible marking system...then make that the basis for the unit project.

Of course, the first thing I do is give each of the girls a 4-color Bic pen, so I've immediately earned points...then I pass out the little card with the sample system and a printout of Ephesians chapter 2 and we're off.

Some take right to it, some color in the o's and p's, and some draw pictures, but at least the idea is planted.

And there's always one or two who will not mark in their Bibles. Some, their parents have forbidden them, but most of the time it's the girls themselves who don't want to mess their Bible up.

Which kind of makes me wonder what their actual perception of the Bible is...or where they picked up the reluctance to mark in it.

So...do *you* mark your Bible? Why...or why not?

4 comments:

  1. I mark all academic reading, and I have a system that evolved from teaching remedial reading techniques at the college level. I have never marked my Bible, but rereading your old post about your system lead me to a break through on why.

    My academic marking system is not transferable to the Bible. I mark the thesis, supporting points, transitional material, stuff like that. I look to analyze the structure of the writing so that I can more easily grasp the author's stated point.

    The Bible, being literature different from any other, isn't structured that way. I need a new system! I unconsciously knew my system wouldn't work, so I did nothing.

    I've ordered the new Bible; now I need to think up a new color code, starting with just what it is I want to symbolize. I'm looking forward to deciding this!

    Alana

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  2. That's really interesting, Alana, and it makes sense! You'll have to share *your* personal Bible marking system, once you develop it! I'll bet it'll be really good...and, I bet once you start using it, the Bible will open up to you in whole new ways. I'm excited for you!

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  3. Hmm . . . I currently use 3 Bibles. One is marked - it was a gift from my father when my mother died, so I've had it for a very long time. I often "discover" stuff I marked a long time ago. One is not marked at all - strictly a church Bible, and the third is actually a full Bible on my iPhone, which I can't mark and have started to use a lot in church because it also has a Strong's concordance incorporated.

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  4. I know several people that have electronic Bibles; I suppose with all the search functions/full concordances/etc on them, there's less of a need to mark.

    I know what you mean about rediscovering something...sometimes I'll read a little note in the margin and not remember writing it at all...and it seems like a fresh word from God for me (it almost always is very timely). Other times, I'll read a note and remember exactly where I was and what was happening and what prompted that response; sometimes it's a prod to go back and work on resolving an old issue; sometimes it's a reminiscent smile....but it's all good!

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